CHAPTER VI

TAHMASP'S DISASTROUS TURKISH CAMPAIGN AND HIS SUBSEQUENT

DEPOSITION

WHILST Nadir was conducting his campaign against the Turks, Tahmasp
remained in Isfahan. On receiving news of Nadir's hurried dash to
Khurasan to counter the threatened Abdali attack on Mashhad, the
Shah and his ministers, according to Muhammad Muhsin, gave them-
selves up to their pleasures, as in former times.1 After spending several
months in this fashion, Tahmasp was induced by some of his ministers
and nobles to put himself at the head of his troops and to set out against
the Turks, with the object of driving them out of the territory in the
north-west of Persia, which they still held.2 Tahmasp was no doubt
persuaded that he would be able to complete the operations so successfully
begun by Nadir, and so reap all the credit himself.

With this end in view, Tahmasp left Isfahan in January, 1731 ; on
reaching Hamadan, he sent an envoy to congratulate Mafjmud, the new
Sultan, on his accession, and also dispatched an emissary to Surkhai Khan
at Shamakhi. Surkhai demonstrated his loyalty to the Porte by decapi-
tating the unfortunate emissary and his suite and sending their heads to
Constantinople.8

From Hamadan Tahmasp went to Tabriz where he dismissed the
Governor (whom Nadir had appointed), and replaced him by one of his
partisans; he then marched against Nakhichevan and Erivan with a
force of 18,000 men.4

By this time Turkey had somewhat recovered from the paralysing effect
of the revolution in the previous September. As Rida Quli Khan, the
Persian Ambassador at Constantinople, had received no reply from
Isfahan to the communications which he had sent regarding the peace
treaty, the Porte ordered its commanders on the Persian frontier to be
on their guardx and granted Ahmad Pasha, of Baghdad, full powers to
make peace or to wage war. In March, 1731, Rida Quli Khan left Con-
stantinople for Baghdad, but he was imprisoned at Mardin on the news
being received of Tahmasp's advance on Erivan.

1 Z.T., fol. 215 (a).

1 Von Hammer, Vol. XIV, p. 254. Mirza Mahdi (T.N., p. 105) merely says that Tahmasp took

this action " in imitation of Nadir."
• Von Hammer, Vol. XIV, p. 252.
4 T.N., p. 105. .